The roar of more than 600 students rocked Bruins Stadium on the morning of Wednesday, June 24. A sea of red-clad graduates erupted from their seats, caps flying in the air to celebrate the end of the 54th commencement exercise and the graduation of the 2015 senior class from North Bergen High School.
Family and friends filled the stands, cheering wildly, waving banners and balloons in support of the graduates. It was a day of great pride and accomplishment, of celebrating goals achieved and looking forward to bright futures.
In addition to the 552 students currently graduating, about 60 who will be graduating in August participated in the ceremony.
Of those graduating, 78 percent will be attending two- or four-year colleges. Between them they accrued about $1 million in scholarships and grants. The remaining 22 percent of the students will be joining the military, the work force, or other activities.
“Graduation day is a combination,” said Dr. George Solter, superintendent of schools in North Bergen. “It’s sadness, because they may be not seeing their former [classmates] from this day on. It’s happiness, because they go into a new chapter of life.”
Excited and anxious
Salutatorian Vasim Patel acknowledged both the achievements and the anxiety of the graduating class. “We’re all about to graduate and ceremoniously be inducted into adulthood,” he told the crowd. “From this point on, our decisions matter more than ever.”
Born and raised in North Bergen, Patel attended Horace Mann School and served as president of the Math Club and the Computer Club and vice president of the Key Club. He was a member of the National Honor Society, the varsity debate team, won numerous awards, and achieved the highest score on the North Bergen Academic Decathlon three years in a row.
Still, “The truth is, I didn’t reach all my goals, like learning an instrument or how to swim. But I have no regrets because I’m happy with everything that I did accomplish,” he said. “But what if I’m not happy with everything I accomplish from here on in? What if the goals I’ve set cannot be achieved? It’s a fear I know isn’t exclusive to myself.”
“Find a passion, and be a nerd about it.” –Valedictorian Vimala Priya Darshini Ravi
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Mayor Nicholas Sacco was among the officials and dignitaries from North Bergen and vicinity speaking at the graduation. He acknowledged that senior year is exciting and special – while also filled with apprehension.
“It is the first time in your life when you have some real decisions to make, and it’s a very anxious year,” he said. Unlike the past, when the students’ direction was set, with a standard progression through elementary and high school, “Now you have to decide about college. Community college, the service, a career, tech school – all these decisions.”
He offered one piece of guidance from personal experience. “Don’t stress over what you decide now. Realize that you will find your path over the next couple of years,” he said. “If you pick a college and you love that college and you pick a career that you love, wonderful. If not, you can change your mind.”
Reflecting that he himself switched his major numerous times in college, he advised, “If you don’t like where you go, give it one year. Don’t walk out. Stay for one year. And give it a chance to see how it develops for you.”
The measure of success
Valedictorian Vimala Priya Darshini Ravi was born in India, raised in Ireland, and moved to the United States when she was 12. “I have been exposed to different religions, caste systems, and lifestyles from all corners of the globe,” she told the attendees. “By living in different countries I had the opportunity to learn how people from other cultures and countries define success differently.”
So how does she define success? “I don’t,” she said. “When we compare ourselves to others we waste valuable time. Success is not a challenge. It’s not a race. It’s about setting a personal goal. So my advice to you is to consider yourselves successful when you have accomplished your goal. Achievement is solely defined by what you do and who you become, not who the person behind you is or what the person next to you did.”
Encouraging the crowd to applaud for all those students who achieved their own measure of success – as athletes, artists, musicians, writers, or in other fields – she gave thanks in particular to “the loving parents who supported us in our sometimes tumultuous journey through high school.”
A former student at Horace Mann School, Ravi was president of the Key Club, vice president of the National Honor Society, and editor of the Bruin Bards literary magazine. She will be attending New Jersey Institute of Technology, majoring in biochemistry.
“For some reason I don’t comprehend, the word ‘nerd’ has a negative connotation,” she told the audience. “But I take it as a compliment. Being a nerd means you are passionate about something. It means you care enough about a certain thing in your life to have a depth of knowledge of it, be it math, art music, literature, business, or athletics. I have a passion for learning. That’s the reason why I’m here today. So find a passion, and be a nerd about it.”
Project Graduation
Just before handing out the individual diplomas to the graduates, High School Principal Paschal “Pat” Tennaro offered his thanks and congratulations to the class of 2015, reflecting back on first meeting them as freshman.
And now they were moving on to new lives. But first came Project Graduation.
“Tonight is a historic evening,” said Tennaro. “Because tonight we are celebrating our 25th Project Graduation. A quarter of a century.”
Project Graduation was instituted to provide a safe, drug and alcohol-free environment for the kids to celebrate on graduation night – traditionally a dangerous time, with students partying and accidents occurring.
“We had a reception here at the high school in the evening,” said Tennaro after the event. “Following that we went over to Chelsea Piers in New York City. At about midnight we went to Palisade Center in Nanuet, New York, where they had dinner and played games for three or four hours while showing a video of their senior memories on all the screens. Then we served breakfast and came back to the high school about 6 a.m.”
The event was funded by students and teachers holding bake sales, car washes, and other events throughout the year, raising about $68,000. Attendance in Project Graduation is not mandatory, but encouraged. This year 621 students attended, with about 70 teachers as chaperones.
“The impressive thing is that the motorcade with police escort beats President Obama’s,” said Tennaro about the bus caravan that ferried the kids from location to location. “We have five police cars, police motorcycles. They close the Lincoln Tunnel, close the George Washington Bridge and the West Side Highway.”
At the graduation ceremony, Tennaro acknowledged his former student, Kathy Somick, “who twisted both my arms and convinced me that it was something we should do,” he said, to keep the kids safe. “Because of her and the faculty of North Bergen High School, I know over the past 25 years we’ve saved many potential injuries and many lives.”
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.